West Town Child Care: Creating Strong Early Foundations

In today’s economy, parents need quality child care so they can work and kids can learn. The Y provides a safe and nurturing environment that helps kids be their best.

Child Care Resources provides information, education, and referrals for families seeking quality child care. They also support a network of home-based providers and small child care centers.

Social and Emotional Development

During these critical early years, the social and emotional foundations that children build shape their lifelong cognitive, physical and mental health. Equitable access to high-quality child care and learning opportunities can transform children’s trajectories, creating equitable pathways to success in school and in life.

A safe, nurturing environment is the most important factor in children’s sense of well-being and ability to learn. Children who develop healthy attachments to caregivers and peers have greater self-confidence, self-esteem, and are better able to express themselves. When parents model positive, respectful communication and support their children’s efforts to solve problems independently, they contribute to a strong, stable foundation that supports their development.

Caregivers at the Y promote children’s social-emotional well-being by providing an emotionally secure atmosphere and setting clear boundaries for appropriate behavior. They also provide positive reinforcement, model effective non-verbal cues, and encourage ongoing dialogue between parents and their children. These strategies help build trust, foster a sense of security and create a consistent environment that children can depend on across settings.

Children’s play at the Y is intentionally planned and structured to support their social and emotional growth, helping them become independent learners. They engage in self-directed activities that promote their personal interests and build essential skills, including a strong sense of self-worth, confidence, and the capacity to make responsible choices. Children are given many opportunities to work together with their classmates in a safe and supportive environment, allowing them to develop leadership skills and form lasting friendships.

We recognize that families need flexible child care options to meet their work schedules. That’s why we offer before and after school programs, summer camp, and options for nights and weekends. Our experienced teachers and staff are here to provide your child with a safe, engaging and fun place to learn each day.

Families with young children face unique challenges finding quality child care and education. The city needs to invest in a comprehensive system of high-quality child care that addresses the specific needs of our community, including funding for family supports to ensure the financial stability of providers and reduce barriers that can prevent them from providing quality care. This includes supporting the cost of payroll, rent and utilities for home-based child care providers; providing professional development and training to address child development best practices; and transforming the current voucher system into one that aligns with high-quality standards that prioritizes contracts with family-friendly providers and promotes stability for all.

Physical Development

The brain develops rapidly in the early years, laying the foundation for learning and health, says west town day care. This period is critical for children’s healthy development, educational achievement, economic productivity, and responsible citizenship. When children have access to stable, high-quality child care and supportive family resources, they are more likely to be healthy, ready to start school, and achieve success in life.

Families need child care that meets their schedule and needs, including options before and after school, during the summer, and for nights and weekends. It’s especially challenging for parents to find care that is affordable and close to home.

New York City needs to invest in its child care system to ensure that families have the support they need. CLASP and ZERO TO THREE have identified 13 policies that, if implemented effectively and funded adequately, can have a significant impact on infant-toddler well-being and long-term outcomes for the entire community.

The first step is to increase the capacity of licensed settings that serve infants and toddlers, starting with identifying and investing in existing space that could be used to expand or renovate child care facilities. NYC Under 3 also includes capital funding to build new child care spaces, with priority given to family day care sites.

In addition to expanding existing child care, NYC Under 3 would establish a fund to provide start-up grants to help infant and toddler-serving providers meet the necessary health and safety requirements to accommodate this age group. This includes meeting minimum criteria such as having safety-grade windows, two means of egress from the building, and adequate railings on stairways.

Azra Hodzic and her staff are detail-oriented, and their dedication to the well-being of each child is evident in their work. Their focus on relationships, and their Reggio Emilia approach, promotes a learning environment that is both safe and nurturing for all. This approach is critical in the development of children, helping them to reach their full potential. Founded in 1900, the Foundation for Child Development works at the intersection of research, policy and practice to support the well-being and development of young children.

Cognitive Development

A quality early education can shape the trajectories of New York City’s youngest children and equip them with lifelong skills. Equitable access to affordable, high-quality, culturally responsive child care and early learning opportunities can also transform families’ economic stability, support family wellbeing, and enable parents and caregivers to work.

Children learn through play and interactions with adults and peers. They build cognitive and social-emotional skills when educators provide engaging activities that are developmentally appropriate for each student, allowing students to learn in ways that best suit their individual needs. This type of personalized instruction can help students reach their full potential.

When children have access to high-quality education, they are more likely to be able to read at grade level by the end of third grade, graduate from high school, and earn a college degree. This leads to higher incomes, improved health outcomes, and greater civic engagement, all of which have significant positive impacts on the economy.

To ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed, the City must invest in ensuring that families have access to affordable, quality childcare. A significant part of this investment should be dedicated to raising the city’s child care reimbursement rates so that they reflect what it actually costs to provide quality services (not a fraction of what providers can afford to charge).

The City must also work to expand child care assistance, including increasing family contributions and creating a fund for professional development and training. These funds should be targeted to increase capacity in neighborhoods with the lowest ratio of licensed infants and toddlers, while preserving existing space that is already available.

Finally, the City must ensure that teachers have the training and support they need to offer children a strong foundation in a rigorous academic curriculum. This includes access to pedagogical support, such as mentorship and coaching. This will help teachers better serve their students and foster stronger teacher-student relationships, while increasing the number of trained educators in the field.

Investing in NYC Under 3 would make the City a national leader in promoting access to quality, affordable child care and early learning. This historic local investment in families with children under three would transform the financial reality for thousands of city families, saving them thousands of dollars that can be used toward rent, groceries, or other basic needs, as well as enabling them to access formal child care for the first time.

Language Development

When children are exposed to language they learn vocabulary, develop their ability to express themselves, and build connections with other people. The staff at West Town Child Care are well trained to encourage children’s language development, and they provide a positive learning environment that is structured and safe.

If you are interested in a career working with children, the Child Care/Early Childhood Education program at BMCC can give you the skills and credentials you need. This program is offered as an evening/weekend format and provides a mix of liberal arts courses and specialized coursework in child care and early childhood education.

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